Colleges of Distinction 2010 - 2011 Guide. Tyson Schritter

       With a President who is the former Director of the Peace Corps, Hobart and William Smith Colleges are committed to providing extensive service learning and community service opportunities. In addition to locally and nationally, service-learning opportunities are offered in Ireland, Wales and other study abroad locations. HWS support both curricular and co-curricular opportunities through which the Colleges are able to respond to community needs and harness student capabilities. The HWS Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CCESL), through a program called Compass, helps students become civically engaged, leading to graduates who are active global citizens. Each year this commitment by HWS accounts for students contributing more than 139,884 hours of service and engagement to local, national and international communities and generates approximately $80,000 in fundraising efforts that are directed to non-profit organizations. HWS was recently ranked 17th in the nation for community service and civic engagement by Washington Monthly.

       The Senior Symposium at HWS is an exciting event which reflects and honors the depth and breadth of engagement among Hobart and William Smith students in a diverse spectrum of academic and creative interests. It provides an opportunity for students, under the guidance of faculty advisers, to engage each other as teachers and learners. The day-long Symposium features presentations by Hobart and William Smith Seniors, arranged in panels and organized around a variety of research and experiential fields.

       At Hobart and William Smith, our 11:1 student-faculty ratio means you get individual attention from professors who are experts in their fields. You’ll get to know your professors beyond the classroom, building rewarding personal and academic relationships. Whether in the classroom or over coffee in the café, faculty will challenge you to reach beyond your comfort zone and will pilot you through a rich, interdisciplinary curriculum, one that requires you to think critically.

       In all, we offer 45 majors and 65 minors and confer Bachelor of the Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, as well as the Master of Arts in Teaching (for HWS graduates only). The most popular majors are: Environmental Studies; Economics; International Relations; Political Science; Psychology; Biology; Public Policy Studies; Anthropology/Sociology; Architecture and English. Sixty-one percent of HWS students create an independent course or major in consultation with faculty advisers to fit their academic interests.

       HWS offers special advising programs in pre-law, pre-health and pre-business, as well as special programs in Education (NYS certification in childhood, childhood special education and adolescent); Honors; Independent Study and Writing Colleagues. The Colleges also offer joint degree programs in Architecture (3+4), Business Administration (4+1) and Engineering (3+2).

       All first-year students take a First-Year Seminar taught by an HWS professor. These courses are designed to stimulate intellectual curiosity, introduce academic expectations and engage first-year students without regard to future major or minor choices. Topics faculty develop vary by year, but examples include “America in the 60s: Talkin’ ‘Bout that Generation,” “Bird Obsessions: Beauty of the Beast,” and “You Are Where you Eat.”

       Combining services and staff from the Warren Hunting Smith Library, Information Technology Services and the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Rosensweig Learning Commons at HWS supports complex, deep exploration and rigorous intellectual pursuit. It is an environment that cultivates the research and technical skills for lifelong learning.

       Our newest residences have been recognized nationally for providing innovative social spaces for enhanced community living. There are a variety of living options at HWS, from single-gender and coed residence halls, to townhouses and homes where residents share an interest in a theme or a cause. At HWS, more than 90 percent of our students reside on campus.

       The Colleges feature a number of new and recently-renovated campus facilities including: the art and architecture facilities at Houghton House, the Goldstein Family Carriage House and the Katherine D. Elliott Studio Arts Center; the Scandling Campus Center with a café, main dining hall, and student activities space; the Salisbury Center, which houses Career Services, the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning and the Center for Global Education; the Finger Lakes Institute, dedicated to the preservation, protection and promotion of the 11 Finger Lakes; the William Smith Centennial Center for Leadership; and the Abbe Center for Jewish Life, a residence hall and community center. The Colleges recently dedicated the Caird Center for Sports and Recreation.

       HWS students participate in more than 90 student-run activities and clubs. Hobart Student Government, William Smith Congress and Student Trustees present opportunities for leadership experience on campus. In the latter, students are voting members of the Board of Trustees. Additionally students can choose to take part in a variety of student media such as an abroad journal, yearbook, newspaper, student magazine, literary magazine, student radio and the Public Affairs Journal. The Colleges are also host to a number of student performance groups in voice, instrument, theatre and dance. Activist and service clubs currently in operation on campus include Amnesty International, Campus Greens, College Democrats, College Republicans, Colleges Against Cancer, EMS Corps, Habitat for Humanity, HIV/AIDS Awareness, Hugs Across America, HWS Votes, Make-A-Wish Club, PRIDE Alliance, Progressive Student Union and the Women’s Collective, among others.

       Each year, dozens of speakers visit Hobart and William Smith to bring the world to Geneva. Most speakers visit classes and chat with students; all engage the community in conversation that is both interesting and thought provoking. Through the President’s Forum Series, the college community is introduced to important politicians, intellectuals, and social activists. A group of faculty and students organize the Genocide Series, which brings guests to campus to improve understanding of life-annihilation processes in the modern world. The Fisher Center Series explores issues of gender and sexuality in the arts, humanities, and social and natural sciences, in an effort to foster mutual understanding and social justice.

       The Committee on Inclusive Excellence is a group of students, faculty and staff members working together to create an intellectual and engaged community that values and celebrates a wide spectrum of differences. The Commission advocates for a campus culture that goes beyond tolerance to become one of inclusive excellence – one that is guided by the principles of equity, social justice, cultural competence and engaged citizenship.

       Solar baking, Recyclemania, eco-friendly lighting